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She doesn't say a word. She turns and starts walking again.
What the hell did that mean?
"This is where you admit you might have overreacted and that you're sorry for not answering my phone calls or texts all week."
"I didn't overreact," she says. "I can't be with someone who thinks I'm some helpless child he needs to save from herself."
"That's not what I think. I saw a problem, and I wanted to fix it for you." I let out a long sigh. This is not how I want to do this. "It's what I do, Dani. I try to fix problems before they happen because when I was a kid I nearly burned down the entire forest."
That stops her. She turns and faces me. "You? What did you do? Make a citizen's arrest of a smoker and accidentally drop their cigarette into dry leaves?"
I snort out a laugh. "You might find this hard to believe, but I was a bit of a rebel and a bad boy when I was a teenager."
Dani shakes her head and is clearly holding back a laugh.
"It's true," Sunny says. "He and Asher Aldridge were constantly causing trouble."
Dani rocks back on her heels and narrows her eyes like she's trying to picture me as a bad boy. "So what turned you into such a law-abiding citizen?"
"Asher and I snuck out of our houses senior year. We camped in a site not designated for camping and we weren't as careful as we should have been with our fire."
Her eyes widen. "That's why you were so obsessed with making sure our fire was out when we camped."
I nod. "It wasn't a huge fire, but it was big enough that Asher and I got separated as we were running for help. For three weeks my family, his family, me, we all thought he had died in the fire. I thought it was my fault."
She presses a hand to her mouth, eyes going glassy with unshed tears. She's the most empathetic person I've ever met. "How awful."
I nod. "Turns out he was fine. He just didn't want to get sent to juvie. He didn't come back to Catalpa Creek, though, not for years, so I lost my best friend, anyway."
"Did you get in trouble?"
Pretending a nonchalance I don't feel, I shrug. I'm still ashamed of that fire and how stupid I was. "I wasn't quite eighteen, and the fire didn't do any real damage or hurt anyone. I got three months of community service."
"That's why you're such a stickler about the rules," Dani says.
"That and the years I've spent as a forest ranger. I've seen repeatedly how precarious life is and how dangerous nature can be. It's not about me being pedantic or uptight. I just want to keep everyone safe and make sure the forest is taken care of."
"I can see that. I can see why you'd be so stuck on the rules when it applies to the mountains and your park, but that doesn't explain your need to save me from Abby without even talking to me."
I sigh and run a hand through my hair. I never talk about that fire Asher and I started. Never. But it isn't enough to make her understand and I'm not sure what will. "I care about you, Dani. I just wanted to fix things for you."
"You wanted to fix it so I'd be able to move back to Atlanta and you wouldn't have to break up with me because I'd do it for you."
What the actual fuck?
I walk around the outside of the trail so I'm next to her and spin her until she's facing me. She crosses her arms over her chest and glares at me, but she doesn't walk away again. "I never wanted to break up with you. I wanted you to have the option of choosing Catalpa Creek and me, not because your ex-partner blackballed you out of working in Atlanta, but because you want to live in Catalpa Creek. Becauseyouchoose this town." I take a step back, needing room to breathe, because when she's this close and looking this sad, all I want to do is pull her into my arms and tell her it's all going to be okay.
"Grant—"
"No. You keep putting words and intentions on me that aren't mine. I've been left behind by one woman who wasn't able to tell me she felt pressured to choose me and this town. I want to be sure that when you build a life here with me, it's because you choose Catalpa Creek. Because you choose me."
Damn, just the thought of Dani walking away from me for good has my stomach sinking and my world going gray. I rock back on my heels. This woman has the power to destroy me.
"Grant—" Dani reaches for me, but it's too late. My feet go out from under me and I'm down, sliding feet-first, on my belly, toward the river.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Dani
